A study analyzing more than 580,000 dogs in the UK found that small, long-nosed breeds lived the longest, while medium-sized, flat-faced breeds lived the shortest. Purebred dogs live longer than crossbred dogs, and female dogs generally live longer than male dogs.
In the UK, life expectancy is highest for small, long-nosed (or dory-headed) dog breeds, such as Whippets, while males of medium-sized, flat-faced (or brachial-headed) breeds, such as English Bulldogs, have the lowest life expectancy.
The results, published today (February 1) in Scientific Reports, were calculated based on data from more than 580,000 dogs from more than 150 different breeds and help determine which dogs are most likely to die early.
Kirsten-McMillan and colleagues used data from 18 different sources in the UK, including breed registries, veterinarians, pet insurance companies, animal welfare charities and academic institutions, to build a database of 584,734 individual dogs.
The dogs came from one of 155 purebred dog breeds or were classified as crossbreeds, and 284,734 of the dogs died before being added to the database. All dog breeds, gender, date of birth, and date of death (if applicable) are included. According to the Kennel Club literature, purebred dogs are divided into body type (small, medium or large) and head type (brachycephalic, mesobrachial or mesonosed, longnosed or proboscis) categories. Median life expectancy is then calculated separately for all breeds and crossbreed groups, and finally for each combination of sex, size and head size.
Study results on differences in dog breed lifespan
Small, long-nosed breeds of both sexes, such as miniature dachshunds and Shetland sheepdogs, have the highest median life expectancy at 13.3 years. Medium-sized, flat-faced dogs have the lowest median life expectancy, at 9.1 years for males and 9.6 years for females.
Among the 12 most popular dog breeds, Labrador retrievers have a median life expectancy of 13.1 years, Jack Russell terriers have a median life expectancy of 13.3 years, and Cavalier King Charles spaniels have a median life expectancy of 11.8 years. Purebred dogs have a higher median life expectancy than crossbred dogs (12.7 years vs. 12.0 years), while female dogs have a slightly higher median life expectancy than male dogs (12.7 years vs. 12.4 years).
Considerations for future research
The authors point out that their findings only represent dogs in the UK and that crossbreeds are strictly defined as any dog that is not a Kennel Club pedigree. They suggest that future research should investigate "designer breeds" such as Labrador retrievers and cocker spaniels separately to account for the varying degrees of genetic diversity between these dogs and mutts.
Compiled from /scitechdaily